Horizon Platforms invests £1.5m in digital transformation

UK powered access provider, Horizon Platforms has launched online platform HireHub, described as “a digital solution to help customers manage their powered access equipment”, as part of a £1.5 million investment over the next three years to take its business online.

The West Yorkshire based company supplies powered access machines for rental, including cherry pickers, scissor lifts across the UK. It also supplies training to support qualifications for working safely at height. 

“Using HireHub, customers can get quotes, place orders, extend a hire or arrange collections, and better manage multiple hire orders across multiple sites, giving them complete control of the hire process,” a statement from the company said.

“With a customer base that generally works in reactive or time-critical situations, HireHub will better facilitate urgent requests and ensure machinery is delivered to sites quickly, at any time of day or night.”

Ben Hirst, Horizon Platforms CEO, said; “Many of our customers are responsible for managing multiple machines, in numerous orders, across different sites on a national basis.

“HireHub is the solution to keeping track of all the information they need to do their job effectively, and reducing the stress that often comes with their role.

“We really believe that customers want options like this, and to have the ability to be proactive with their own hires, rather than waiting on a phone call or email.”

Ben Hirst, Founder and CEO of Horizon Platforms.

Hirst said the company had originally planned to establish  sites throughout the UK, but “recognised this was a potentially flawed model” due to the company’s commitment to reliability and rapid response.

“The bigger a company gets, especially in our industry, this becomes harder to deliver,” he said. 

“We are the only powered access company to have focussed on becoming a national provider of powered access service, through a network of organisations...”

“This growth meant we took the decision to make a significant investment into digital, making improvements to our website and our service offering to better meet the needs of our customers and solve some of the common issues we see in our industry.

Horizon Platforms was founded in 2008 by Ben Hirst and Matthew Fray and has a head office in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. Its revenue for 2021 revenue is expected to be £18 million, with the business forecast to grow 15% per year over the next five years.